Manner Matters in Layoff Etiquette

November 7, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) Nearly half (44%)
of laid off workers say their employer did not communicate
effectively the rationale for the job cuts, yet that was
deemed more important information than additional benefits
such as job search support or extended healthcare, according
to a new survey.

In fact, employees who were laid off under these
circumstances were more likely than others to take legal
action or consider other ways of hurting the company,
according to the survey conducted by Andersen in
conjunction with Vault, Inc.

Still, some laid-off employees felt more positive about
their situation if they believed the reason for the layoff
was the economy or their personal performance.

Others were perturbed about not being given any
severence while some felt they were let go because of
salary-related reasons.

The survey was a tally of responses given by over 1,200
recently laid-off workers.

Other Findings

Other findings from the responses from over 1,200
recently laid-off workers:

86 % reported no opportunity to apply for other
positions in the company

71 % blame company leadership for the layoff;

70 % of the laid-off workers would not recommend that
others work for the company

67 % would never work for the company again, even if
extended a job offer

54 % said that they would not recommend the company’s
products or services to others based on the way the
layoff was handled;

49 % of those surveyed felt that the layoff was done
in a manner inconsistent with the company’s values

15 % have considered taking legal actions against the
company;

11 % have considered speaking to the media or a
public source about their experience.